Best Shots
by Cris
Summary: A collection of gift lemony oneshots from yours truly. Chapter 1: Edward helps Bella recover from a sunburn.  Chapter 2: Two words - Roller. derby.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: All standard disclaimers apply. And here it is, bloftus' lemony oneshot for guessing where the title of "As Children After Play" came from. Yes, it's the poem "Tomlinson" by Rudyard Kipling. Normally I'm not such a huge fan of Kipling (some of his short stories are bloody terrible...in both meanings of the word bloody) but this poem is really great. It's funny, and it has a great rhythm. Plus, the moral is one I need to be reminded of every now and then (it's about a guy who is sent away from both heaven and hell because he read too much during his life and never actually DID anything.) Anyway...yes. So this is for bloftus, who won! And Scott Pilgrim is an amazing movie!_

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"Hush!"

Bella hushed, but she smiled fondly at her soon-to-be sisters as she did so. "Look, guys," she said, voicing her reservations in little more than a whisper, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we're not going to be able to hide this from him. We're just not."

"Hide what from who?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes at her husband as he sauntered into Carlisle's office, which the girls were currently raiding. He leaned against the doorjamb, looking mildly interested as Alice pawed through a cabinet of creams and gels, most of them samples sent to the hospital by drug companies hoping for contracts. Carlisle usually didn't bother keeping medicines at home - no one in the family needed them, after all - but since Bella came into their lives he'd surreptitiously stocked the office and kept it that way. The poor girl's clumsiness was legendary.

"Whom," Bella corrected Emmett lightly.

"What?"

"No," she said, giggling a little. "Not what. Whom. The correct question was hide what from whom?'"

"Meh."

"Meh? Really?" Bella's grin grew wider. "The rest of your family is weird, Big Brother Cullen, but you I find hard to believe."

"What about me?"

"You're a perfect modern-day guy. How do you do it?"

"Trade secret, Babybel," he said, his voice inflated with pride. He grinned down at her from where he lounged against the doorway.

Bella was grateful to Emmett for his easygoing attitude. She wasn't stupid, and she understood full well that Emmett's playful acceptance of her as a little sister had done much to bring Rosalie around. Though she and Rose would never be as close as some of the other siblings, it was now possible for them to play on the same side. Like now, as the three girls stood as a united front, trying to do the impossible: keep something from Edward.

"Trade secret nothing." Rose snorted indelicately. "I can tell you how he fits in so well. It's because he's an absolute _caveman_, and cavemen happen to be in right now."

Emmett shrugged, unfazed by his wife's statement. "What can I say?" he said. "This family's already got two metrosexuals and a Southern gentleman. Someone needs to provide the testosterone."

"Carlisle's not a metrosexual!" Alice protested. "He's simply a worldly and discerning individual."

"Uh-huh." Emmett's tone was less than believing. "I notice nobody's jumping in to protest with Edward."

Bella felt her cheeks flame as the other girls laughed. "I love him just the way he is," she said, touching her hand to her face. She winced a little as the movement of her arm pulled at her sore back and shoulders.

Alice's hand was instantly on her other cheek, the icy touch infinitely soothing. "At least the rest of the boys don't smell as bad as you do!" she snapped. "Now get over here. You caused that blush, and you can take care of it. The poor girl's overheated enough without you making it worse."

"How so?" Emmett questioned, ambling over to Bella's seat. He peered at her, and she saw when the light clicked and he realized she was wearing shorts but her upper half was wrapped loosely in a towel. He raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing, and he took her wrist in his huge hand, tugging her fingers away from her cheek. In good humor, he replaced her hand with his. Instantly Bella felt her face cool, with two vampires cupping her cheeks. She felt completely ridiculous, but her blush-reaction was no match for the icy skin of her soon-to-be siblings. Emmett grinned at her, then peered over her shoulder. The towel showed enough of her back to tell him what Alice had meant. Bella knew exactly what he saw: her shoulders and back were pink, mottled with darker red and unhappy white, a direct result of Alice's cajoling wish to sunbathe all afternoon.

"Don't say it," Rose said, holding up a hand to forestall whatever wisecrack might come out of his mouth.

Emmett let out a breath. "Who's the psychic sister again?"

"Me." Rose flashed him a smile that held both irony and warmth. "When it comes to you."

"Man," Emmett said, reacting to what Bella could only assume was a secret signal between the two, "you're hot."

"Likewise, caveman." Rosalie moved away from a cabinet, holding a fat little tube of purloined gel. "Hold still, _bé bé _."

Bella did, grasping Alice's hand in case this hurt.

"What are you doing, anyway?" Emmett finally asked.

"Well," Rose said, and Bella heard the squelching sound of gel being squeezed from the tube, "Alice had this great idea to lounge in the back yard all afternoon since the weather was so great."

"It _was_ a good idea," Alice protested. "I love being all warm in the sun."

"Well, Bella here fell asleep," Rose said. "And being the brilliant dead people we are, Alice and I forgot about sunburn until it was too late."

"Way, way too late," Alice added.

Bella felt the first cool touch of gel against her back. Rose was trying to be gentle, but the sunburn was bad enough that, even though both the gel and her fingers were cold, just the pressure of anything on her skin both hurt and itched badly. "It's my fault," she muttered, trying not to make Rose feel worse for admitting that her ministrations hurt. "I'm from Arizona, and I knew better than to fall asleep in the sun like that. I just wasn't thinking."

"And you're covering this up from...Edward?" Emmett guessed. He dropped his hand from Bella's cheek and stepped back, for which she was grateful. The minute he moved, Rose had the ends of Bella's towel parted and she was smoothing goop down the whole of her back.

"He'll _kill us_ if he finds out we let this happen to Bella," Alice said. She didn't flinch as Bella's hand tightened on her wrist - it was almost as if she hadn't felt it at all.

"You've seen this?"

"Of course not," Alice said, her voice impatient, as if she were tired of explaining about what she could and could not see. "You know it doesn't work like that. Christ, if it did we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. I'd have seen Bella get burned and not let her fall asleep out back this afternoon."

"So how do you know - "

"Because it's _Edward_," Rose snapped, "and he always gets worked up over things like this. You know that."

"Hush!" Alice said again, as she had before Emmett returned home. This time even Bella heard the car in the driveway.

"Guys, it doesn't matter how quiet you are," Emmett said, heading toward the door. "Edward'll hear it in your minds, anyway."

"Not if we - "

Alice's words were cut short by an angry vampire pulling Bella to her feet and into his arms. She yelped - not in pain, but in surprise - and huddled against him as her towel was pulled from Rose's hands and dropped to the floor. She felt her cheeks redden again, worse than before, as she stood topless in a room full of vampires. Nobody could see her front half, buried against Edward's chest, but still...

"Edward, we're sorry!" Alice looked up at him, her eyes big and penitent.

"They didn't do anything," Bella mumbled against his navy blue shirt. Like always, his presence had thrown her senses for a loop and done something awful to her equilibrium. She pressed against him out of embarrassment at her topless state, but also out of something even more primal, even more desperate. As his cold hands closed over her burning back, a completely different kind of burn awoke deep below her belly, stretching hesitant, almost sleepy tendrils into her bloodstream.

Edward's breath hitched, and Bella knew enough by now to know that that little check meant he could feel the electric buzz of their joined bodies, could scent the stirrings within her. He held her a little tighter, the gesture almost involuntary, and Bella clamped her jaw shut, sternly refusing her sudden desire to lick his throat or pull his earlobe into her mouth.

"Maybe not," Edward said, and Bella could hear the familiar tightness in his voice that meant he was struggling against his own wants. "But they should have known better."

"_I_ should have known better," Bella interrupted, reaching up to cup his jaw with an arm. She stroked the firm line of it with her thumb, reveling again in how smooth his skin felt over the solidity of his body. "I did know better. Edward, it's not their fault."

Edward's eyes closed involuntarily, and she felt him go still under her fingers. He could deny her nothing, particularly when she put her hands on him. She hadn't learned to pout like Alice or be scary like Rosalie. She didn't need to. One touch from her in the right spot, one murmured promise that she was his forever, and whatever arguments or anger still lingered in his system instantly dissipated. Bella reveled in the knowledge that she could do this to such a strong, immortal being. That his touch did the exact same for her didn't seem so odd, in her eyes.

With an ironic little grin, Rosalie pulled one of Edward's hands off of Bella's back and slapped the little tube of aloe into it. She grabbed Emmett by the shirt and beckoned to Alice. "Out," she said to both of them. "You can apologize more later, if you still feel the need."

"What'm I apologizing for?" Emmett demanded petulantly as he quite willingly trooped after his wife.

"I'm sure we can think of something," she said as their voices disappeared down the hall.

"I really _am_ sorry," Alice said, hovering for a moment in the doorway.

"I know. It's okay."

Alice beamed at her "little sister," and swept across the room at vampire speed to hug both Bella and Edward, one in each little arm, before almost skipping out the door.

"Sweetheart, have you even seen your back?" Edward said, sweeping his cold hands carefully across the mottled burn. "It's not okay."

"But Alice didn't mean it," Bella soothed, stroking his cheek with her fingertips. The steady, light sweeping motion made his eyelids flutter. "And sunburns fade. In a couple of days it'll be completely normal again."

"And until then?"

Bella grinned, hearing the question in his words that was somewhat less than innocent. She toyed with the buttons on his shirt. "Cold helps," she said, smiling up at him.

"Oh, yeah?" He lowered his head, his mouth mere centimeters from hers.

"Mm-hm." She almost hummed the not-quite-syllables against his shoulder, and her tongue danced out to touch his neck.

Instantly Edward tensed. His hands dropped to her waist and curled there, not hurting but not terribly gentle, either. "Careful," he hissed. "You're playing with fire."

"Seems I already did that," she teased, unbuttoning several buttons in the middle of his shirt so she could slip a hand through and touch him. The desire, pooled low in her belly, was now leaking into her bloodstream. She could feel its insistence throbbing, needy and demanding, in every inch of her skin. She wanted to be touched - needed to be touched. She wanted his cold hands on her - only he could possibly soothe this new kind of burn.

The instant her fingers met the ice sculpture of his bare torso, she felt herself hoisted into his arms. "Not here," he said, his voice tense, and she nodded absently as he moved them to his room. For a while now he'd been coaxing her to refer to it as _their_ room, but until she officially married him and moved out of her father's house, she didn't think it would really set in as something serious.

Not that any of that mattered when she felt herself spun in his arms, landing belly-down on the gold comforter of the bed he'd bought for her - for them. Her heart started to pound harder in her chest; she felt him brush feather-light little flickers of cold across her burning back. She whimpered a little. The cold fingers soothed one burn, but did nothing for the other.

"God," she whimpered, feeling his hands curve along her waist, his touch firming as he hit the pale, unharmed skin along her sides. His fingers traced the top of her shorts before he grasped her hipbones and pulled upward, holding her up with one hand while the other unbuttoned her shorts and pulled the zipper down.

She was almost panting now with need, with the delicious knowledge that he needed her, too, that his body demanded and he was primed to obey it. In this moment, he wasn't a creature of blood and violence. This was a different need - possibly more primal, even. He would never hurt her; she trusted him implicitly. Still, there was a delicious kind of anxiousness in not quite knowing what he was going to do, particularly when he let himself get carried away and was not as gentle as he usually tried to be.

Bella liked this slightly-rougher Edward when he showed himself; it was proof that he couldn't always control his physical desire for her, and she liked that, loved knowing that she could do this to him. Not her blood, but her body - she was capable of pushing him to the edge of control, where he could not temper raw, physical need with his wish to be as gentle as possible.

Now he pulled her shorts and underwear down in one impatient tug, and she vaguely heard the sound of the material hitting the wall as he flung it across the room. Then his hands ghosted across her back again, the cold fingers gentle, belying the impatient way he touched her elsewhere. They brushed up to her shoulders and across her neck, then down. When he reached her hips this time he didn't stop, and his hands splayed out, his palms stroking firmly across the pale roundness of her ass. She tried to roll over so she could see him, but his hands instantly found her hips again and he held her still.

"Uh-uh," he scolded gently. "You can't lay on your poor back, pretty girl."

"But - " she started to protest. Her nipples and the entire soft mound of her mons ached to be touched by his hands, not by the fabric against which they were currently pressed.

"Yes," he said, his voice affable. "You have one of those. I'm busy with it right now."

He hovered over her, and his lips traced the gentle knobs of her spine, one cool, wet kiss after another, traveling lower...lower... His mouth traveled down the creamy expanse of one buttock, pausing at the creased little line where it met the top of her thigh. He deliberately licked that line, causing a surprised gasp from Bella's mouth. It was nervewracking, not being able to see him, only feeling half-unexpected touches and kisses that she couldn't brace for. The strange anxiousness this caused only seemed to fuel her desire more, and her entire body pulsed, aching, waiting for something she hoped was coming. He wasn't a tease, generally speaking. Surely he wouldn't just leave her like that?

Without warning he grasped her hips again, pulling upward. Before Bella knew what was happening, she was propped on her knees and elbows, and he was underneath her. He groaned, his voice thick with need, and Bella cried out as his mouth reached up for her just as his hands pulled her hips down to him. His tongue parted her folds, lapping at the liquid heat hidden there. Bella mewled, unsure whether she wanted to press her hips tighter against him or pull away. He was usually big on foreplay; it was unusual for him to immediately lunge for her like that, and though her body ached to be touched, it was almost too much, too soon. She trembled above him, her body trying to move, to do something to mitigate the intensity of his touch. But his hands on her hips, his fingers digging firmly into the soft flesh of her behind, did not allow any movement. She shook as he swirled his tongue along her dripping crevice before plunging it deep inside her. She cried out at the sudden cold slipping inside her hot, pulsing body and again when, with the same suddenness, it pulled out again. His mouth was sin against her most delicate skin as he pursed his lips a certain way, laving at the moisture her body couldn't help but produce when he was near. His cold tongue tapped her clit, just a tiny touch, and her body tried to jump. He held her still and repeated the motion, pressing his tongue against her again before moving his head and taking a long lick from her aching, waiting opening up and over her clit. She cried out and he circled the little bundle of nerves with his tongue, playing with it.

"Edward, please," she panted, not knowing quite what it was she wanted him to do.

"Yes?" He licked again, pressing harder. "What do you want?"

"I don't - god!"

"You must have some idea," he said, mumbling the words between firm little licks to her clit.

She was close - so close to coming, and he was riding the edge of intensity that was almost too much. She needed something to temper the direct, intense attention he was paying her clit, and her entire body ached to have him inside her. Only that ever managed to cool the intense, liquid burn bubbling deep in her abdomen. "Inside," she managed to groan out, her entire body tensing, preparing for a release she was almost afraid of.

Instantly he was out from under her, but his hands returned to her hips a split second later, canting them back and up. They'd never tried a position like this before, and Bella felt her heart almost humming, it was beating so fast. She caught her breath as she felt the cold length of him brush her ass, his hands holding her, stroking, supporting...and then he was positioned.

He froze, teasing, and Bella tried to shimmy backward onto him. He held her still, used one hand to push her knees farther apart, and slowly pressed forward.

That first inch or so was always somewhat uncomfortable when he entered her. Alice assured her that this was completely normal, as that ring of muscle at her opening was the tightest and strongest part of her vagina. But as soon as he pressed farther, it was like someone flicked a switch. The uncomfortable, tight muscles relaxed, and though it still felt like he was stretching her to her body's limit, it was no longer painful. He moved smoothly, slowly at first, giving her time to adjust to the feel of him inside her, as he always did. She was grateful for that - it was such a foreign feeling at first, though so good. She could feel the cold length of him as he pressed deeper within her, and she dropped her head to rest against the comforter, her ass in the air, overwhelmed by just how deep he could reach in this position. He rocked against her, each time a little farther, a little faster, and suddenly she felt his body shift behind her, leaning over her, his hands leaving her hips and sliding up her sides to cradle her breasts. He held them in his hands, kneading firmly, playing the nipples between his fingers, as his cold chest pressed against her burning back.

"Yesss," she hissed, pressing back against him. He took that as a sign that her body was ready for more, and he returned his hands to her hips, holding her steady as he began to thrust in earnest.

It was animalistic, and Bella was pretty sure that she loved it. He wasn't hurting her, but he wasn't trying to be overly gentle, either. It wasn't tender or romantic, but there was no way she could deny the fact that he wanted her, needed her. He thrust hard from behind, the cold length of him fusing with the liquid burn deep inside her to create a wonderful, roiling warmth that pulsed along her bloodstream, feathered through her muscles. Her fingers tingled, and she whimpered as she felt his right hand fall from her hip, snaking around to part her folds and stroke her clit again.

The world exploded into a haze of swirling lights and sensations, and Bella felt the pulsing heat in her body begin to swirl in, like water down a drain, pulling her body tighter and tighter, circling back toward that secret spot in her abdomen. The pressure built and built, and she cried out, as much a warning to him as anything else.

"Christ, Bella," he bit out, the words almost a groan, "I don't need a warning. Trust me, I can feel how hard you're clamping down on me."

It was true - he was hardly moving inside her anymore, her muscles were squeezing him so tightly.

"Baby, relax," he said, and his fingers left her clit long enough for her to swallow a breath of cool air, then another. He stroked her breasts, her sides, ran his cold hands across her outer thighs until he felt her squeezing muscles lessen enough that he could continue to thrust.

"Good girl," he cooed, returning his hand to her clit, stroking firmly. "God, Bella. Just let it come. Come for me. Just relax and let it happen."

His voice in her ear, the cold blanket of his chest against her back...it did her in. With a ferocious churn, the liquid heat congealed in her gut and, like a dying star, suddenly it was everywhere. She exploded around him, arching, spasming, and only the firm grasp of his hands on her waist held her to earth, it seemed, as she heard him growl next to her ear. She could feel him come undone above her, and it was glorious. Cold and glorious. His mouth was everywhere, licking the burns on her back, soothing the pain even as their twinned orgasms soothed the burning inside. She slid to her stomach on the bed, panting, and felt Edward feathering kisses across the back of her neck, then her reddened shoulders.

"Holy hell," she muttered, shifting into a more comfortable position and moving damp tendrils of hair out of her face so she could look at him.

"Yeah." Edward smiled a little sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I just - "

"If you dare apologize for touching me, I'm never speaking to you again," Bella snarled fiercely. She made to turn over, but his hands still prevented it.

"Sorry, sweetheart, he said, his voice once again the gentle, in-control Edward she was most familiar with. The other one took her breath away...but he was a little too intense for everyday life. She enjoyed it immensely when he showed up, though. "Your back is still pretty badly burned. Probably best not to sleep on it for tonight."

Bella blinked and looked around the room. Sure enough, it was growing dark. She bit back a grin - she'd have to call Charlie in a little while and tell him she was staying at the Cullens' tonight. Because there was no way in hell she was putting a shirt on in the next twelve hours or so, and neither was she willing to leave Edward after an experience like _that_. But for the moment, all she wanted to do was bask in what could only be called afterglow.

She heard Edward pawing on the floor for something, and turned her head. He righted himself and held out the little tube of aloe Rose had handed to him. "Shall I?"

Bella rolled her eyes and took the tube, then chucked it across the room.

"Mind telling me what that was for?"

"Well," she said, settling fully on her belly again, "I know that stuff can't taste good, and if you tell me it does, I won't believe you."

Edward was silent for a moment. "But doesn't it help make you feel better?"

"Not as much as some other things," she said, grinning over her shoulder at him.

Instantly his face cleared. "I see," he said, and obligingly lowered his mouth to her skin.


	2. Chapter 2

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_A/N: So this one's for **Hev99** for agreeing to be my UK Consultant on ACAP, for telling me her Bob the Builder story, and for being fanfiction royalty in general. Mwah!_

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**Emmett POV**

Dude, my brother is totally fucking getting laid tonight.

See, me, I don't need any help in that area. I'm the stud in the family; all I have to do is flash The Secret Weapon - my dimples - and girls will fucking fight each other to get a piece of this. Gotta thank ol' Grandpa Cullen for those babies. My brother and sister don't have 'em. My parents don't have 'em. Just Gramps and me.

Of course, I gotta have something besides my size to make me stand out among my sibs. Edward has this perfect fucking face that makes all the girls want to either sex him or baby him, depending on their mood. He can pout like the motherfucking mama's boy he is, and chicks go all apeshit trying to soothe him. Then there's our baby sister, Alice. Tiny little fairy - hardly anybody can believe me and her came outta the same uterus. Course my dad says after me absolutely nothing could faze our mom's belly. I was almost ten pounds at birth. It took Alice _months_ to reach that weight. Anyway, in high school she just _had_ to go and apprentice with a local contortionist and when guys hear that, Ed and I have to beat them away from her with sticks. Panting animals. That's not just some chick, it's my baby sister, but they'll never learn since she keeps egging them on.

Anyway, Ed's been a miserable fucking douche since his ex, Tanya, kicked him to the curb last month. It's not like they were that serious or anything - they'd only been dating a couple of months - but poor lil Eddie's never been dumped before. I told him to put his big boy shorts on - or hell, go commando if he wanted - and get back out there. Plenty of other chicks on a college campus for two studs like us. I said he could even tag along when my buddy Jasper and I went bar hopping - learn from the masters, as it were. But no, all he wants to do is sit in his room in our apartment and bitch and moan about being dumped. I told him if he started to wear all black and write bad poetry I was throwing his sorry ass out. He may be my brother, but there are limits.

Bitch smelled like feet anyway.

So when Alice called to blackmail me with the promise of helping our bro, I agreed even though she's a conniving, evil little sprite. Without telling anyone, she up and tried out for our local roller derby league and made it onto their Fresh Meat team. She agreed to bring us all to a game and introduce Ed to some of the other girls in exchange for our silence: we don't tell mom and dad she's playing derby, and Eddie gets some nookie. Ed wouldn't tell on her anyway; he's not as protective as I am.

It took Jazz and me tons of time to convince Edward to come out with us; he doesn't wanna leave the apartment since the breakup. We told him we were going to support Alice even though she wasn't playing, but we didn't tell him about the girls. Let him figure that out when he can't run away.

Two teams of athletic girls, all of them our baby sister's friends. If Edward couldn't find a girl tonight, it wasn't for lack of options.

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**Edward POV**

Fucking Emmett.

I don't usually swear, but my brother seems to bring it out in me. I love the big idiot, I really do, but sometimes I wish he was more willing to take a hint and leave me alone. After Tanya, I was through with girls for a while. All I wanted was to focus on my classes and get through the term. Emmett thought I was heartbroken over her, but I wasn't. I just wanted to know why. Why was I always the odd man out? I had a giant brother who never lacked for female company, and I was positive my gorgeous little sister had more experience with the opposite sex than I did. Tanya had just kind of flung herself at me, so I couldn't say I got much practice picking up women by dating her. I don't know if she just decided to take pity on a charity case or what, but she latched onto me and it was a whirlwind couple of months. I went along with it because I didn't know what else to do, and because I kind of liked feeling my big brother's approval for once.

The sex wasn't all it was cracked up to be, though. I mean, I got off and everything, but it just seemed kind of...lacking. Like there was something missing, something wrong. Tanya didn't seem to notice it, but I did. I guess that's just the way it is, and I had been expecting too much from one little physical act.

Not that it really mattered now, anyway. I'd sworn off women and I was sticking to that.

Emmett and Jazz wanted to take me out tonight, though. It was for Alice somehow, though I couldn't figure quite how that worked when she wasn't actually going to be playing. But trying to follow Emmett's logic is like dividing by zero, at least where the outcome is concerned: the universe will implode. No, I'm serious. Know what he's majoring in? Recreation. I didn't even know there was such a thing. He's got textbooks and everything, but I'm afraid to open them. I'm afraid I'll find that the text is, like, three times normal size and the books are full of helpful hints to get away with slacking and calling it research.

I love the big guy, though. He may be an idiot, but he's my idiot, as his best friend Jasper always says.

"Dude! You ready yet? It's just roller derby; you don't have to dress nice. In fact," Emmett yelled, pounding on my bedroom door, "if you _do_ dress nice, Jasper and me are gonna have to disown your sorry ass."

"What?" I said, yanking my door open and stepping out into the hall. I was dressed suitably casually, I hoped, and I hadn't even bothered trying to tame my hair. Not that it would stay, anyway. My hair did what it wanted to do no matter what drastic measures anyone tried. Emmett always joked that our mom wasted gallons of saliva licking her hand and trying to dampen my hair and make it behave when we were kids. Now I glared at him. "Do I ruin your derby cred?"

Emmett eyed me for three long seconds before grinning, showing those dimples that made every girl we weren't related to swoon. "Nope," he said, "you're good. Now are we getting a move on, or what?"

As we all loaded into Emmett's Jeep I rolled my eyes internally, knowing I would most likely be driving their drunk asses home. Even if they didn't serve alcohol at the event, somehow Em always seemed to know how to get it.

"Do you even know anything about roller derby?" I asked from my spot in the back.

Em and Jazz glanced at each other and shrugged. "Saw that derby movie with Drew Barrymore and the Juno chick once, didn't we? What more is there to know?"

"I just thought you'd be more prepared is all. Roller derby is an actual sport, you know."

"Sport schmort; it's a bunch of chicks in fishnets knocking each other down. That's hot, bro, but it's not a sport."

I kept quiet after that, knowing nothing I could say would change Emmett's mind. I didn't know any more than he did, really, but Alice had been so excited the first time we talked after she joined the newbie team. She went on and on for over an hour, using all these technical terms I didn't understand. I came away from the conversation with no more knowledge of roller derby than before, but with more respect for it. Any activity with that much trade lingo had to be more than girls in fishnets beating on each other.

We pulled up finally at a small airstrip on the outskirts of the city. There was loud music blaring from one of the hangars, and there were cars and people absolutely everywhere. Emmett pulled into what was probably not exactly a legal parking spot, and I tried to make a swipe for his keys but he pulled them out of reach.

"No way, baby bro," he said, dangling the keys above his head, where he knew I couldn't reach. I didn't even try, I just glared at him. "I'm the DD tonight. Alice promised there'd be booze, and we're getting you shitfaced!"

He and Jasper looked way too excited about this, and I knew they had something up their sleeves. I just didn't know what. I followed them toward the hangar, feeling more and more worried with each step.

We got our names crossed off the Will-Call list and had our hands stamped, then were allowed to pass through a door. Immediately I felt like I was in a club: loud pulsing music and swirling colored lights enveloped me. Someone shoved a program into my hand - what was this, the symphony? Why did roller derby need programs?

Collapsible metal bleachers had been set up along three sides of a flat oval track: along the fourth side the two teams of derby girls were milling around, laughing and hydrating and dancing a little to the pounding beat. It was some loud hip hop crap that I didn't know and instantly hated, and I wrinkled my nose.

Along one long wall were tables where people were selling concessions and merchandise: mainly beer and t-shirts. Above them on a catwalk I glimpsed what were probably the DJ and announcers.

"Drinks!" Emmett said, and was about to plow through the thick crowd toward the beer table but a delicate little hand suddenly appeared on his arm and he stopped instantly. "Allie!"

"Emmett Cullen, were you about to start knocking back beers without finding me first?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "I told you to come find me before you did absolutely anything else!"

"Sorry, baby sis," he said, rubbing his neck and looking slightly embarrassed. "It's just that Eddie here was thirsty, see, and - "

"Don't worry, Edward," Alice said, patting my shoulder. "I know you weren't the instigator here."

That was why I loved my little fairy of a sister. She always called me Edward, not Eddie or Ed, and she knew Emmett well enough to know that things were rarely my fault.

"Let me introduce you to some of the girls before the bout starts," she said, and she grabbed me by the hand so I couldn't retreat. Did I just say I loved my sister? I take it back. She's a demon.

Alice led us across the track, which was flat and demarcated by colorful tape and clear rope lights. There were also soft bumpers making an outer ring around it. Some spectators had started to sit on the floor just outside the bumper ring.

"That's what's called the 'suicide seats'," Alice said with a grin. "It's not unusual for players or refs to crash through the foam barriers and fall into the crowd. I saved you guys some prime ringside seats."

"Suicide seats?" Emmett said hopefully.

"Yep."

God help me, I was going to kill both my siblings. And maybe Jasper too, while I was at it. He hadn't said anything so far, but he also hadn't stopped staring at Alice with this strange look on his face. Had he ever met her before? I couldn't remember, but I didn't think so.

Alice pulled us over to the far wall where the teams were milling around. Some of the girls were stretching, pulling provocative poses in front of the very appreciative crowd. I swallowed hard. These women would absolutely eat me alive. Their eyes said it all: they were here for blood. No way Emmett thought this wasn't a real sport after looking at their faces. Sure they were all wearing heavy makeup and tight little uniforms, but their expressions gave the lie to that farce. These girls meant business.

"Rose! Rosie!" Alice trilled, shouting to be heard over the music. The godawful hip hop finally ceased, changing over to Nick Gilder's "Roxy Roller," which thankfully wasn't nearly so loud. Alice tugged at someone's uniform, and as she turned around I gulped.

She was tall - I mean, that girl just kept _going_. She was on the red team - don't ask me their name, because I hadn't even glanced at the cover of my program yet. I was too afraid something horrible would happen if I took my eyes off my surroundings for that long. She was wearing scuffed black skates that looked like they'd been through at least one world war, and they only added to her height. Black fishnets rose from the skates, ending in a little red dress with what looked like a checkered racing stripe up one side. The neckline was low, but not low enough to be obscene. She had long blond hair that was pulled back in two French braids, and her face was heavily made-up to make her look like a 1950's pinup girl. When she bent down to adjust her giant protective kneepads, I saw a flash of checkered hotpants that matched her racing stripe.

"Rose, I want you to meet my boys," Alice said, ducking under the giantess's arm for a hug. "The big one's my brother Emmett, this is Edward, and I haven't been introduced to Blondie yet, but I'm assuming he's the Jasper Emmett's always going on about."

Rose's glance raked over me and Jasper before settling on Emmett. "Hey, big boy. Come to see what baby sister's been prattling on about?"

Emmett looked like he'd been punched in the gut. All he could do was stare. "Uh-huh," he managed to squeak out finally.

"Not much of a talker, is he?" Rose said to Alice. She kicked leisurely off the ground with one toe-stop, gliding over to Em and stopping two inches from his face. With her skates on she was perfectly aligned with him and they stood there, nose to nose, for what seemed like full minutes. Emmett gulped.

Suddenly a smile flashed over Rose's face, and she laughed. She gave Emmett a light peck on the lips and another on his cheek, then moved away again. "It's time for warmup," she said. "Might want to think about getting your boys settled where they can't get into any trouble."

Alice giggled and hauled on me again, but she didn't have to grab me this time; I was absolutely terrified of these girls in general and Rose in particular and I wasn't going to hang around any longer than I had to. She led us to a patch of free space on the floor, right up against the foam barrier. We all awkwardly sat down in a row: me, then Alice, then Jasper. There wasn't enough room to fit Emmett, so he sat behind Alice and I and only pouted a little bit.

"Is it time for beer?" he asked petulantly.

"If you must," Alice said, hiding her laughter behind her hand. I frowned, not sure what was so funny until she nodded surreptitiously in Emmett's direction. I hadn't noticed before, but Rose had left a very clear, very red lipstick impression on his cheek. He threw down his sweatshirt to mark his seat, then strode with purpose over to the beer table.

"Now, what do you know about roller derby?" Alice asked me.

"Um..." was all I could get out. The girls were starting their warmups now, skating laps around the track. It was like a school of bright colors, and they passed so close to me that I could feel the wind they made as they moved. They didn't look like they were working hard at all, but they were skating _fast_.

"Edward! Pay attention!" Alice snapped her fingers in my face and I shook my head, trying to clear it.

"Now," she went on, "here's the basics. There are two teams. Tonight's bout is the Breakneck Betties - that's Rose's team - against the High Rollers. That's the green and gold team. There are five players from each team out on the track at any one time. Three blockers, one pivot, and one jammer. You know, it's a little like Quidditch if you think about it. The pivot, like the keeper in Quidditch, kind of oversees the rest of the players and keeps things together. She's the last line of defense against the other team, too. The blockers, like the beaters in Quidditch, are there to defend their team and act aggressively toward the other team. The jammer, like the seeker in Quidditch, is the fastest and spriest person on the team. She's also the only person who can score points."

None of this made any sense to me, but I hoped it would become clearer as I watched.

"How come the track's flat?" Jasper asked.

"Flat-track derby is really what's making a comeback," Alice replied, smiling widely at him. I was suspicious about Jasper's intentions, but Alice was a grown girl and could make her own decisions. Not that Emmett thought so. "Banked-track derby like they played in the 1970's and you saw in the Drew Barrymore movie isn't really played anymore. Old-school derby got a bad reputation for being fixed, and for being a spectacle more than a sport. This is a real sport. It's not about girls in short skirts. That part's just for fun."

Jasper wisely didn't argue, and at that moment the announcer up on the catwalk urged everyone to start taking their seats so they could begin the bout. Emmett came back with cold beer and t-shirts for everyone. Alice even snagged a can even though she's still underage. I tried to refuse, but Emmett pushed a can in my hand anyway. I decided it would be all right to hold it, at least. He wouldn't notice that I wasn't drinking it once the action got started.

"Dude, I forgot the nachos!" Emmett wailed suddenly.

"I'll get them," I said quickly, hoping to keep away from my brother until the game - what had Alice called it? The bout? Until the bout started. Emmett shoved some bills into my hand and I picked my way through and around the crowd, heading toward the concessions. There were people everywhere, though the crowd was thinner close to the foam barriers. I kept close to them, making my way across the crowded seating area.

Suddenly someone knocked into me from behind and I pitched forward, tripping over my own feet and a discarded beer can, and almost fell into someone in front of me.

"Watch it!" the guy in front of me said, and shoved me back.

"You think this is a game, buddy?" the guy behind me said, and went to shove me again.

"Hey!"

The voice was female, but low and sweet even though it was currently raised in anger. I had raised my hands in front of my face for fear of falling into the concrete floor, but I cautiously lowered them now.

A girl in the green and gold uniform of the High Rollers had her fist wound in the shirt of the guy behind me, and she yanked his head down to her height. It was a reach - she was delicate, not much bigger than tiny Alice, and he was a big Native American dude in khaki shorts and a black wifebeater. He looked stunned and apprehensive as she jerked him close, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"You've been warned before, Jake, about starting trouble in the stands," she said, glaring at him. She snapped the fingers of her free hand in the air several times and suddenly several other rollergirls surrounded her. "Let us do the fighting, kapish? Leave it to the professionals."

With that, she yanked on his shirt again, and he was so off balance already that he toppled over, falling on top of the short foam barrier. "Let's get him out of here, ladies," she said, looking at him with disdain.

"Time to put the dog out," another rollergirl laughed, and the rest of them hauled the guy to his feet, shoving him cheerfully toward the exit.

I hesitantly raised my eyes to my rescuer again, and my heart tried to stop beating in my chest. She was absolutely the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life.

She had long brown hair that spilled down her back and across her shoulders, and her pale skin glowed healthily with exercise. A smattering of light little freckles was sprinkled across her cheeks and the bridge of her adorable nose, and her slightly-parted pink lips were full. Her big brown eyes were the best part, though - they were watching me with droll amusement, though there was nothing mean in her smile.

"You okay, pretty boy?" she asked, and I knew she had to be talking to me because she was looking straight at me. Still, I had no idea why she'd call me pretty. Maybe she was trying to make me feel better. God knew she was the most gorgeous girl I'd ever encountered.

"Sure," I said weakly.

"You sure? This crowd can get a little rowdy sometimes. Let me get you back to your people."

I could do nothing but nod wordlessly, and she began to skate slowly on her side of the foam barrier as I walked on my side next to her. Nobody bugged me this time.

Until Alice caught sight of us, that is. Her mouth made a little round O of surprise, and then she was on her feet, squealing and beckoning.

"Edward! Bella! Over here!"

I found my spot next to her and thumped down gratefully on my ass. No way was I moving again until it was time to go home.

The girl who had rescued me hugged my bouncing sister. "Alice!" she said, sounding genuinely happy to see her.

"Bella, you have to meet my brothers," she said. I noticed that she didn't introduce Jasper this time. Was my sister claiming her territory? "The big oaf is Emmett, and the one you were walking with is Edward. What happened?"

"Nothing much," Bella said, waving it off. "Jacob Black was just getting pushy again, and your brother was the unfortunate caught in the middle." She dropped to her butt and turned around, facing the track. How she managed to sit down in skates without falling, I'd never know. "Braid my hair for me?"

"Sure thing!" Alice quickly did Bella's shiny hair up in a single French braid. It was too severe a hairstyle for Bella's delicate features, but I could see how it was probably useful during a bout.

"Dude," Emmett complained, "you can't even get nachos without causing a scene. What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know," I muttered helplessly. Emmett was right. There had to be something wrong with me if I couldn't even blend into such a diverse crowd as this. There were little kids here coping better than I was.

"Leave him alone," Bella said sharply, and I blinked in surprise. She was glaring at Emmett, and I sure as hell would not have wanted that expression aimed at me. It was utterly terrifying. Fire snapped from her big brown eyes and Emmett cringed. "Jake's always looking for a fight. It's not Edward's fault he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

This gorgeous girl in shiny gold hotpants was defending me. She was sitting right in front of my sister, just a small foam barrier between us, and she was glaring daggers at Emmett on my behalf. I was beyond smitten. I had no idea what this feeling was, but it was sudden and deep. This Bella was absolutely amazing. Even though I was sure she was just being nice to the poor boy who looked awkward and out of place in the crowd, I was still beyond grateful. If she would just sit there and glare at Emmett for the rest of our lives, I couldn't ask for anything else.

But of course my wish was ridiculously impossible, and I knew that. Emmett held up his hands in good-natured surrender and Bella raised an eyebrow at him. She snapped her fingers again, this time at Alice, then held out her hand toward my sister, her eyes still trained on Emmett.

Alice pouted. "Do I have to?"

Bella only snapped her fingers again in response. Alice sighed and dug in her giant purse, extracting a makeup compact. Let me just say I would have been moving a hell of a lot faster if those beautiful, terrifying fingers had been snapping at me.

Bella took the compact and opened it, blew on the mirror, and then held it toward Emmett wordlessly.

"What?" he demanded, grabbing the little plastic object and peering at himself. "Do I have...oh!"

"Tissue?" Alice asked, sounding dejected as she held out a little pack of Kleenex.

"Dude, no way!" Emmett said, admiring the lipstick mark Rose had left on his cheek. "I'm never washing this off."

The announcer screeched that it was time to get seated for the national anthem, and Bella hugged Alice.

"Good luck!" Alice squealed.

"Soon you'll be out here with us," Bella promised. I swallowed hard, suddenly terrified for my baby sister. Why did she want to do this, again? Bella looked at me appraisingly as she climbed to her knees. "It's tradition to give a kiss for luck," she said.

Emmett and Jasper started howling with laughter, and Alice put her hand on my back and shoved me forward. "Go on," she urged. "Go on!"

Redder than I think I've ever been before, I leaned forward and let Bella touch her lips to mine. Despite her fearsome, no-nonsense demeanor, it was a gentle, tender kiss. She tasted like some kind of flavored lip gloss, and her mouth was absolutely as soft as it looked. I melted. Then and there, I absolutely melted. "Good luck," I managed to mumble as I felt her fingertips linger for a moment on my jaw. She smiled and touched her nose to mine before climbing to her feet and gliding off to her own side of the hangar.

"Edward!" Alice hissed at me as we all rose for the national anthem. They had a little girl sing it live, which was very cute, but I barely heard her. "Edward, Bella totally likes you!"

She had to be joking. Bella was amazing and I was just me. Just Edward Cullen, lowly college student always stuck in my big brother's giant shadow.

When we had taken our seats again, Alice resumed her lecture about the game. Five players from each team skated out onto the oval track. I looked, but Bella wasn't among them. "Pay attention, or you won't know what's going on," Alice said severely. "Now, see how four players from each team are all lined up together? All the blockers and the pivot?"

"Which is which?" Jasper said, peering at the mass of female bodies.

"The blockers have plain helmets. The pivot has the stripe down her helmet. Now, when the whistle blows the first time, the pack will start moving. It has to stay together as a unit. If it doesn't, the refs can call penalties. On the second whistle the jammers - the ones with the stars on their helmets, lined up behind the pack - can start. The goal is for the jammer to make it through the pack without being called off the track for a major penalty. She laps the pack, and on her second trip through she scores points for every member of the opposing team she passes."

The whistle blew, and the pack took off. It moved slowly, every member jockeying for position. I couldn't understand why, but they certainly seemed to know what they were doing. The girls were shoving and pushing at each other - not with hands, but with just about any other body part.

A second whistle blew, and the two girls lined up behind the pack absolutely flew off their starting line. The red team's jammer made it to the pack first and plunged into the melee. The green jammer chose to take an outside line and tried to make it around the pack without going through it, but the red pivot was suddenly in front of her, blocking her path. Everything moved so quickly that I couldn't keep my eyes on exactly what was going on. Suddenly the red jammer shot out of the pack, to the sounds of mixed cheering and booing from the stands. The green jammer got through a moment later and was hot on her heels as they skated swiftly around the large oval track, trying to lap the pack.

"The jammer who gets out first without a penalty is called the lead jammer," Alice continued to lecture. "She can call off the jam whenever she wants. If she doesn't, it will last two minutes."

"That's not very long," Jasper murmured.

"No, but it feels like it when you're out there!" Alice smiled widely at him; I saw it out of the corner of my eye as the pack flashed past us. "There are as many jams as can fit in a thirty minute period. Then there's an intermission, and then we do it all over again. After two periods, the highest score wins."

"Seems pretty simple," Emmett said as the red jammer entered the pack again.

"Then take a look at your program," Alice advised. "There's all sorts of penalties that can be called, and the most common are listed there for you. Four minor penalties or one major, and you're sent of the track for either one or two minutes. Get enough penalties and you can be sent off for good."

"Sweet," Emmett said. "Like hockey with short skirts!"

I rolled my eyes and kept my attention on the game. The red jammer made it through the pack and then tapped her hips with her hands several times, the motion that called off the jam, before the green jammer could catch up and score any points.

A new batch of girls lined up now, and my heart started to thrum when I saw that Bella was on the back line, wearing the jammer's star on her helmet. She looked focused, and she leaned down into a runner's crouch.

At the first whistle the pack took off, moving faster this time. They kept together but separated into a front line of green and a back line of red. At the second whistle Bella actually ran on her toe-stops for a few steps, gaining momentum before she began to skate. Man, that girl was fast. She was way ahead of her opponent even before she met the pack. The crowd went wild, stomping and wolf-whistling.

"Bella's a big favorite here," Alice said, smiling at me. She patted my hand, which I had clenched around my knee, my knuckles white as I watched that beautiful girl pause at the wall of red in front of her. Her back was to me now, but I could almost feel her sizing up the situation.

She moved a split second later, darting for an inside line. As the girl on the inside leaned a little bit into her far skate, Bella seized the sliver of an opening and hopped past, grabbing onto the hips of her teammate in front of her to steady herself. The crowd loved that, and the noise level rose yet again. I couldn't even hear the music anymore, though I could feel it buzzing in my bones.

Bella shot out in front of the pack, and she was so graceful, so magnificent. She waved almost demurely at the crowd, while her rival jammer was still trying to fight her way past the wall of green. Bella whipped past us, and I swear it looked like she smiled at me even though she was moving so fast I doubt she could see anything. My heart sped up anyway. Stupid heart. Didn't it know a girl like that was way out of my league?

She whipped easily through the pack a second time, making it look so easy as the red jammer still fought to make her first pass. The crowd was roaring as Bella skated around again, trying for a third pass. She was breathing heavily now, and I saw sweat glimmering on her face and chest. God, that was hot. In another context... But, no. Bella was amazing. I was sure she already had a guy or girl - she had to, a girl like that. And even if she didn't, there was no reason to think she'd want a guy like me.

Bella made it through the pack twice more before time ran out, racking up twenty points for her team. It was clear the crowd loved her, but she was so winded by the end of the jam that she wasn't flirting with them anymore. She sat down heavily on the team bench, which looked suspiciously like an old church pew, and drank deeply from a Nalgene bottle someone handed her. Drops of water dripped from the rim and landed on her panting chest, and I could do nothing but stare at her, even as a new jam started.

"Dude, Rosie's out there!" Emmett squealed, shaking me from behind. Sure enough, Rose wore the pivot stripe and even though I didn't really know anything about derby it looked like she was doing a good job at keeping her team together. Red took ten points that jam, to green's four.

By the end of the first half Bella had jammed six times and she was looking tired but upbeat. Red was ahead a little, but not by much. Both Alice and the announcer assured us that the first half was just that - the first half, and it by no means signaled the outcome of the bout.

Despite the crowd and the bad music, I was hooked. I loved the beauty and simplicity of the game - whistles and cheering, just like football, but here you were right on top of the action. These women were tough, taking hits that would have had me crying for my mama. Every time a girl fell I cringed, holding my breath until she got up again. Every time a ref fell or was crashed into by a skater, the crowd cheered madly. It looked like taking out refs was their secret love.

My secret love was wearing sweaty gold hotpants, but there was no way I was gonna tell anyone else that.

I was hoping Bella would come talk to us during intermission, but she didn't. A few of the rollergirls mingled with the crowd, but most stayed on their pews. Alice tried to talk to me a little bit, but I didn't know what she was saying. All I could do was watch Bella. She took her helmet off and her braid swung free, a little frizzy now. The swirling lights lit up the flying bits of hair that had come free from the braid, almost making her look like she had a fuzzy halo. So adorable. So pretty.

All too soon the second half began. Action continued much like in the first half, but the girls seemed more focused now. The playful flirting with the crowd was over, and more penalties were called as things began to get more serious. Emmett cheered wildly for Rose when she ended up in the penalty box for the third time, and he whistled as she flipped off the ref who called her out.

"I am going to marry that girl," he said dreamily from behind me, his voice loose with alcohol. I didn't know how many trips to the beer table he'd made tonight, but it had to be quite a few.

Bella was still in rare form, but it was clear that the red team had it out for her. Their jammers could never catch her, so their blockers and pivot did everything in their power to make her life miserable. Twice she went down, and both times I swear my heart stopped beating until she climbed to her feet again. Part of me wanted to rush out there on the track and haul her to safety, but I knew she'd absolutely murder me if I tried. I hated seeing her fall. But it was worth it to get to watch her play. She was graceful and swift and cunning, and after tonight if Emmett dared try to argue that this wasn't a sport I might just sock him in the mouth.

Rose was finally let out of the penalty box for the third time, and she joined the lineup for the next jam as a blocker. Bella was jamming for the green team, and she bolted from her starting line when the whistle blew. She made it through the pack like it wasn't even there and was coming up for her second pass as the pack rounded a turn and skated towards our seats. She was in the middle of the pack, fighting to get through a wall of red in front of her, when Rose suddenly darted up beside her and checked Bella soundly with her hip.

For an instant it was like I saw everything in slow motion. Bella stumbled and almost managed to regain her balance, but there was just not enough room in the pack for her to plant her skates and really center herself. Rose bumped her again and Bella pitched forward and to the side, crashing into the foam barrier and landing in my lap.

I froze, my hands outstretched and my lap full of hot, sweaty, panting girl. I'm positive my eyes bugged out of my sockets; vaguely, as if from a great distance, I could hear Emmett laughing behind me. Bella shook her head and moved her hands to pick herself up. She shifted, flipping herself from her back to her hands and knees so she could climb to her feet. Her weight disappeared from my lap, but suddenly her sweaty, glistening face was just inches from my junk. I was instantly hard, instantly throbbing, and so horrified that I wished I could crawl under the bleachers and disappear.

But Bella didn't even seem to notice whose lap she'd landed in and she hoisted herself up with a ferocious little growl that didn't bode well for Rose. She took off after the pack, running on her toe-stops to build momentum again, and I couldn't help but stare at her adorable little ass in those gold hotpants as she skated away.

"Edward! Edward, you okay?" Alice asked, shaking my arm a little as she and Jasper helped the others around us to straighten the foam barrier again.

I nodded, unable to speak, still hearing Emmett snorting behind me. Before the pack got around the next turn Bella had her revenge: she shot up next to Rosalie and deliberately tripped her. Bella was immediately sent to the penalty box, but her team was ahead anyway and they easily won the game.

As the announcer hollered the final score, everyone in the stands started to get up. Some headed for the exit, but most squeezed in next to us alongside the track. Alice pulled me to my feet.

"Stay here," she commanded, and she stuck her right hand into the ring. Everyone else was doing the same, so I copied her.

It made sense a moment later when the winning team stopped hugging each other and skated back out onto the track. They did a slow victory lap, slapping five to everyone who held out a hand. Bella was at the end of the line of rollergirls, and everyone seemed to have special congratulations for her. I wanted to say something, too, but as she neared me my mouth went dry as cotton and my brain blanked. I literally forgot how to speak as her sparkling brown eyes caught with mine. She laughed and kissed Alice, then put her arms around me, pressing her hot, damp body against mine.

"Thanks for the good luck kiss," she said, chuckling a little, and she pressed her mouth to mine again.

It was a playful kiss, nothing more, I wanted to tell myself. But I couldn't stop my hands from grasping her waist, and as she pressed against me I know she could feel my erection. I was sure she'd shove me away in disgust, but she didn't. Instead she kissed me twice more, two soft little pecks, before stepping away.

"Don't let him go anywhere," she told Alice, tossing my conniving little sister a wink before she skated away, high-fiving the rest of the crowd.

"Gee, I hope Rose isn't too disappointed about losing," Emmett said, and I was suddenly very grateful to the terrifying blond woman for taking my brother's attention off of me. "Or maybe she is, and needs some comforting?"

"Don't worry about Rosie," Alice said, giggling a little as she hauled Emmett and I toward the exit. "Tradition states that the losing team always wins the after-party."

"After-party?" Emmett sounded immensely hopeful. We stepped out of the hot, crowded hangar and back into the cool, clear night air. I breathed deeply, then grimaced and coughed as the breeze shifted and I got a lungful of secondhand smoke from all the nicotine addicts standing outside the doors.

"Yup, after-party. And we're all going."

I opened my mouth to protest. I was not interested in moving from one loud, crowded space to another one, and besides, Bella had said not to go anywhere. I had no idea what she meant by that, but there was no way I was going to disobey. Alice shushed me before I could get a word out. "You drive Emmett's jeep so I know my boys will get there in one piece," she said firmly. "And don't worry, Bella will be there. There's no point in hanging around here - the teams are just going to grab a quick shower and head to the bar anyway."

The words shower and Bella in such close proximity made my language skills take a hike again. I could do nothing but take the keys Alice cajoled out of Emmett's hand and then follow him and Jasper toward the jeep. Alice was parked on the other side of the lot, so after making sure we knew where the bar was, she headed to her car.

But Emmett was drunk enough that he didn't remember where he had parked, and Jasper thought this was so funny that he was no help looking for the jeep in the dark parking lot. In consequence, the lot was nearly empty by the time we finally found the car. Emmett hurried toward it, brokenly promising that he'd never misplace it again, and I was about to follow when a soft hand grabbed my arm.

"Leaving so soon?"

I whirled to find Bella smiling up at me. Her hair was down and she was wearing normal shoes, but she was still in her sweaty uniform.

Jasper plucked the keys from my hand with a knowledgeable smirk. "I'll drive Emmett," he said before saluting Bella and turning away.

"Alice said - "

"Shh. I don't care what Alice said." Bella took my hand, leading me around to the far side of the hangar where a little patch of woodland separated the airstrip from the nearby marshes. Now that the music had finally been shut off I could hear the giggles and chatter of girls and, below that, the sounds of frogs and crickets and marsh birds.

In the trees someone had strung clear little Christmas lights, and there were a line of open-air showers set up. I don't know how else to explain it - there was a skeleton frame of wood and piping, and what looked like six shower stalls on each side, each enclosed by hanging curtains. Most of the showers looked empty, and there were only a few girls still milling around, toweling off their hair and talking excitedly.

Rose stepped out of a curtained stall still adjusting her vivid red tank top, hair caught up in a towel. She laughed when she saw Bella hauling me forward - whether it was me in general she was laughing at or my terrified expression, I didn't know. "Hey, pretty boy," she said, "where's that big brother of yours?"

"At the after-party," I managed to squeak out. This was the second girl in one day who called me pretty. Maybe they'd all been hit in the head one too many times.

"Good," Rose said. "I'm itching to dance and drink, and go home with a stranger. That brother of yours might just be getting lucky tonight."

She lost interest in me then, dragging the rest of the girls away toward their cars. Now it was just Bella and me. I swallowed hard, trying to look almost anywhere else as Bella stripped off her giant knee and elbow pads, then stepped out of her black Vans.

"Come here, pretty boy." Bella crooked a finger at me, and I could do nothing but obey. I stumbled over to her, where she stood next to a long bench. She'd dropped her pads unceremoniously on the bench seat and now she put her hands on my waist, leaning up to press a gentle kiss against my lips.

"I'm not - " I tried to argue, but she only shook her head and kissed me again.

"You, Edward," she said, "are fucking beautiful. And the best part is, you don't even know it, do you?"

I shook my head, because really, what other response was I supposed to give? I wasn't beautiful. I was just me. Just the middle child everyone glossed over, the second boy my mom got when she wanted a little girl.

Bella's hands were warm when she slid them under the hem of my shirt, slowly drawing the fabric away from my body. I pulled my arms and head free and she tossed it somewhere, her hands returning to my skin. It felt amazing, her hot palms running up my chest, snaking around my neck and holding me against her. She was shorter without her skates, and I bent my head willingly when she pulled me down to her mouth again.

This kiss was not as playful as the others had been. She licked my lower lip, asking me to open my mouth, and I could do nothing but comply. Warm tingles shot through my body as her tongue stroked mine, her movements getting bolder and more insistent. She pressed herself harder against me, and I was sure she could feel how hard I was for her, my traitor body giving me away. I moaned into her mouth and she dropped one hand to my chest, rubbing a flat nipple with her fingers. Her kiss was hot and wet and insistent, and I was completely blown away. Never had a kiss felt like this, like hot wet silk, and velvet lips, and just...just amazing. Beyond words. She whimpered, a needy little sound, and my hands instantly tensed around her.

"Shower," she mumbled against my mouth, her hands dropping to my belt and unbuckling it quickly. She shoved my pants to my knees, but I had to break away to stumble out of my shoes and socks. I folded my jeans carefully on the bench, leaving me in nothing but my boxers. The night air was chilly, and I shivered.

The hiss of water on gravel made me turn my head, and I saw that Bella had turned on one of the showers. Steam billowed in white clouds up into the night sky, and the little clear twinkling lights lit it up in strange and wondrous shapes. Bella peeled off her sweaty green dress and then her black sports bra, and shimmied out of her gold hotpants and black fishnets, leaving her in a pair of small bikini-cut panties and absolutely nothing else. She beckoned to me again, but for a moment I couldn't obey. My legs were no longer mine to control. All I could do was stare at the vision before me. If I thought she was beautiful before, she was beyond words now. Her breasts were absolutely perfect, small and round, with little berry-colored nipples tightening in the cold night air. I could see the faint outline of her ribs as she breathed, and there was a hint of muscular definition to her flat stomach. Even her belly button, perched above the dipping line of her underwear, was perfect. I wanted to drop to my knees and worship that little divot.

So I did. Bella laughed and ran her hands through my hair, holding me against her body as I nuzzled the soft, sweet skin of her abdomen. I took a hesitant lick just below her belly button, hoping she wouldn't smack me.

She didn't, but she let out another throaty whimper and tightened her fingers in my hair. She was salty with dried sweat, and I licked her again.

"Shower," she repeated, tugging me to my feet. I let her lead me into the outdoor shower stall, not quite believing what was happening but perfectly willing to follow her just about anywhere. I was no athlete, but I'd heard that the adrenaline of the game often made them horny. If Bella wanted to use me to get off after winning the bout, I was absolutely fine with that. She could use me for just about anything and I'd be happy. I'd kissed that tantalizingly soft skin, and as far as I was concerned I could now die a happy man.

Certain parts of my anatomy didn't quite agree, however.

My boxers were drenched by the warm spray as Bella pulled me into the shower stall and closed the curtain behind us. Part of me wanted to be annoyed that now I'd have to go the rest of the night commando, but the bigger part of me couldn't care less, especially when Bella pressed her slick, wet self against me again. She was slippery and warm, and my mouth watered. I had to taste her again.

I bent my head to her wet, gleaming shoulder, tasting water and sweat and skin, licking and nibbling my way along her collarbone toward the pale line of her gleaming throat. She panted in my ear, her hands kneading against my lower back like a pleased little kitten. But my Bella was no kitten. She was a fierce wildcat, strong and sensual and cunning, and I had fallen hard for her. She pulled her throat away from my lips and her wet mouth found mine, intense and demanding. I kissed her hard, pulling her body flush against mine, feeling the slide of skin and rub of wet fabric as she rubbed herself deliberately against me. I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut tightly, feeling the tension and ache building through my whole body. Bella didn't seem like a tease, and for my sake I hoped she wasn't. I didn't know if I could cope if she turned me down now.

She eased her mouth away from mine and turned around, reaching for a bottle of body wash sitting in a hanging basket. Handing the bottle to me, she smiled up at me with big, teasing brown eyes. I smiled and couldn't resist kissing her again before pouring a generous amount of body wash into my hands. It was green and smelled clean and fresh - nothing too girly or cloying. I lathered my hands a little, not wanting to apply the cold gel directly to Bella's heated skin. She turned around, drawing her wet mane of hair over her shoulder and offering me her bare back.

Even from behind, she was beautiful. I smoothed my hands over her shoulders and down her back, trying to knead and massage as I rubbed the soap into her skin. I wasn't very knowledgeable about massages, but I could feel when her muscles quivered under my hands, and she seemed to like when I paid special attention to those places, as if they were sore. She made soft little appreciative noises as my hands fell lower, then paused at the waistline of her saturated underwear.

With one smooth motion she drew the final piece of clothing from her skin, pitching the black panties over the shower curtain. Hardly knowing how I dared, I trailed my soapy hands slowly down her hips and across her tight, glorious little backside. She moaned and shoved back into me, and I squeezed her cheeks hesitantly, hoping I wasn't being too forward. She shoved into my hands again, and I relaxed a little, kneading and squeezing her round, firm ass more than was strictly necessary for showering purposes.

Finally I dropped to my knees, filling my hands with body wash again and running my palms up and down her legs, from the top of her thighs to her delicate ankles and back again. Her legs, like the rest of her, were smooth and firmly compact - just beautiful. I lowered my head and licked the back of her knee before lathering it, unable to help myself. Her leg quivered and she gasped, and I smirked a little as I repeated the action on her other leg, kissing and licking the sleek, wet skin. I wondered if I'd found a previously unknown erogenous zone on her body. From her surprised gasp I thought it might just be possible. But, then, what did I know? I'd never worshipped a woman's body like this before. Sex with Tanya had always been perfunctory - a little breast fondling, a little grinding, but mostly your basic thrusting until she either came or told me to stop. Sometimes I got off, sometimes I didn't.

But being with Bella here, like this, was nothing like sex with Tanya. That had been always motions toward the goal of orgasm. Here, I was all over her body because I wanted to be. Because I didn't know how to keep away from her. Even the back of her knees turned me on. And while my dick was hard and throbbing, desperate to finally meet this girl, it wasn't just about getting inside her. It was about soft skin, and the amazing noises she was making, and each individual touch and kiss...all of it, together. In that instant, I understood exactly what people meant when they said making love was different than having sex. I'd had sex before. I'd never done this.

Suddenly Bella turned around, and I was staring directly at the promised land. I gaped. I stared. I admit it - I ogled. She was completely bare - shaved or waxed - and while I'd felt like that might be strange when I heard girls were doing it, on Bella it looked sexy. Completely hot. I glanced up at her face, and she was smiling down at me, her hands in my wet hair, stroking gently. I looked back down, swallowed hard, and placed a hesitant kiss on her outer lips. She vibrated in my arms as I slid them up her sides, holding her hips - a fine, faint trembling that I could only hope wasn't anger. I kissed her soft skin again, shifted my position, and urged her to place her foot on my shoulder.

I'd done this once with Tanya and hadn't liked it - the taste, the hair in my teeth, the way she ground down against my face. But with Bella I was dying to try. She smelled divine - salty sweet and womanly, and it was driving me crazy. She bent her knee, reaching her foot to my shoulder, and I could feel her eyes on me as I lowered my mouth to her skin.

Bliss. Wet, hot bliss. She leaned back, supporting her weight and balance against the wooden frame of the showers, her hands still in my hair - not guiding my head, but I appreciated the encouragement all the same. I licked and suckled this most tender skin as the shower rained down Bella's front, filling my mouth every time I opened it. Her taste was diluted by all the water and I wished I could shut the shower off and get a proper lick but I didn't want her getting cold. I drew my tongue along her slit, finding her opening and teasing it but not pushing inside. She hissed and whimpered, rocking her body against me.

"Fuck, Edward," she mumbled, her hands tightening in my hair as I moved upward and found her clit. She jumped a little, then her whole body relaxed slightly and she urged my mouth forward again. I sucked the tiny little nub of nerves into my mouth gently, easing my tongue over it, amazed by Bella's reaction. She was so responsive, rocking her body in time to my licks, whimpering and muttering incomprehensible words, her head thrown back and propped against the wooden shower frame.

I eased my right hand between her legs, stroking the slick skin, and stroked one finger slowly across her opening. She moaned and pushed down, encouraging me, and I pressed slowly into her, feeling her muscles quiver and relax as I reached deep. "More," she urged. I hesitated - she was slippery and wet, her natural lubrication flowing freely, but she was also incredibly tight, her inner muscles gripping my finger. I didn't want to hurt her. But she urged me again, so I slowly pushed another finger inside her, hooking them forward in a come-hither motion, trying to find her G-spot. I licked her clit a little harder at the same time, hoping to distract from any discomfort my fingers might be causing, and her entire body suddenly went rigid. "Uh...god, Edward!" she keened, pushing hard against my mouth, and then her inner walls were pulsing, clenching and relaxing around my fingers as her body shook. I withdrew my fingers and put both hands on her hips, steadying her as she dropped her foot back to the ground, but continued to lick and suck gently at her clit, even though it was harder now in this position. She bucked and trembled against me for long moments before she finally pulled away, blinking water out of her eyes, and then plopped herself down in my lap, kissing me sweetly.

"You're amazing, Edward," she said, her voice languid. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"I'm just me," I said awkwardly, but she smiled and shook her head, water droplets falling from her beautiful eyelashes.

"You're so adorable," she murmured, kissing me again. I slid my arms around her, relishing in the feel of her skin against mine. She let me hold her for a minute before she sighed - in reluctance? - and got up to turn off the shower. "I don't feel much like going to the after-party," she said, reaching through the curtain and grabbing two big towels. She handed one to me and wrapped the other around her perfect body. "Do you?"

I didn't know what the correct answer was, but luckily she gave me a clue. She helped me to my feet and wrapped my towel around me, reaching up to kiss me again. "What do you say we have our own after-party at my place?"

I could do nothing but nod.

Bella gathered up all our clothes in her arms, jammed her feet back in her shoes, and led me, shivering in the cold, empty night, toward a hulking beast of an old red truck sitting alone in the parking lot. The moment I saw it, I knew this was Bella's car. What else would she drive but a loud old behemoth like this? I bet even assholes in their Hummers got out of the way when they saw her on the road. She ushered me into the cabin, still in only my towel, and climbed into the driver's side.

Too soon and not soon enough at the same time, we stopped at a cute little house not far from the airstrip. She led me inside, dropped our clothes in a heap in the tiny foyer, and I trailed her into the bedroom, which held little more than a huge unmade bed.

"Come here, Edward," she said, her voice soft but brimming with promise. I obeyed, unable to refuse as she crooked a finger at me. I tackled her, taking her to her back on the ample bed. She giggled, wrapping her legs around me as I followed her, pressing against her soft, supple skin. Instantly her towel was gone, and she yanked at mine but it was caught between us and I didn't want to lose contact with her skin long enough to let her strip me. My mouth found hers and my hands closed around her perfect breasts for the first time. They were firm, round handfuls, her nipples hard as I rubbed my palms against them. She arched into my touch, her legs tight around mine, and I pinched and played with her nipples, biting my way down the white curve of her throat and then over her sternum, replacing one of my hands with my lips.

She was panting against me, still pulling at my towel, and now she managed to slide one hand between us, grasping my erection firmly. "I wanna see you," she said, and with her free hand she tugged at the towel one more time. I raised my hips just a little, just enough to let the fabric slide free. She pulled at the towel and pushed with her body at the same time, rolling us over and switching positions so now we were both completely naked and I was on my back. Smiling in satisfaction, she straddled my legs and raked her eyes over every inch of my body offered up for her. In that moment I knew I would let her do anything, absolutely anything, she wanted with me.

A glistening drop of pre-cum stood out on the head of my cock, and she slowly ran her hand across it, using it to lubricate. The sensations she was pulling from my body as she stroked me were indescribable. I watched through half-lidded eyes, panting, as she slowly reached a hand between her legs and brought it back again slick and wet. She rubbed her lubed fingers up and down my length agonizingly slowly.

"I like Little Edward," she said, scooting back a little on my legs. She licked her lips and leaned down, pressing a soft, wet kiss to the very tip. I groaned and my cock jerked, and she giggled before opening her mouth and sliding her tongue across the head in a long, slow, leisurely lick. Oh, god, I think I'm gonna die. This woman is going to be the death of me. She kissed the underside, then flicked her tongue quickly against the same spot, moving a hand to cup my aching balls, rolling and massaging them a little harder than I expected from the gentle way she used her mouth. "He's not very little at all, is he?"

I didn't know what to say to that, but it didn't matter. I forgot how to speak a moment later when she slid her mouth over the head of my throbbing cock, sucking and rubbing her tongue against the shaft as she took me in deeper. I felt the tip hit the back of her throat before she slowly pulled away again. She placed little nipping kisses along the line of hair leading to my belly button.

"Have you ever been deep throated?" she asked. "I mean really deep thraoted?"

I shook my head dumbly.

"I thought not," she said, teasing my hipbone with her teeth. "Especially with the size of you. Can I try?"

Like any man in his right mind would say no to that. I nodded.

"Good. You taste delicious."

My erection jerked again at her words, and I swallowed back a moan. She giggled and pursed her lips, blowing a thin, cold stream of air directly at the tip. I made a strange, strangled sound that I wasn't sure I could classify, and then I was moaning for real as she took my length into her mouth again. I felt the tip hit the soft back of her throat again, and she paused. There was still a good portion of me left outside her mouth, and I wondered what she was going to do. She took a deep breath through her nose and then slowly pushed herself forward, making swallowing motions with the muscles of her throat as I slid impossibly further in. Those swallowing muscles felt like nothing I'd ever experienced before: her throat was already tight around me, but now her esophageal muscles were squeezing from the middle of my shaft to the head in a rhythmic stroking motion, squeezing tightly, like the tightest, wettest vagina I could imagine. I balled my hands into fists, clutching at handfuls of the bedspread and trying to keep control. I tried my hardest not to thrust into her, not wanting to choke her, but after a few moments I couldn't stop the instinctual motion of my hips. Bella took it, still swallowing, pressing her mouth against the base of my cock, holding me tightly in her mouth and throat. I jerked and spasmed, making noises I swear I'd never heard from my mouth before.

I could feel it coming, a big, amazing orgasm. The kind of orgasm that could never be duplicated. I tried to hold back, to postpone it as long as possible, but finally I knew there was nothing more I could do. "Bella," I managed to gasp, "Bella, I'm - "

"Oh no, you're not," she said firmly, pulling her mouth off me in an instant. It was too late, though; I could feel the tightening in my balls and the quivery, high, amazing feeling that preceded shooting a load. But she suddenly clamped her small hand tightly at the base of my cock, squeezing hard. I came without releasing, something I didn't know was possible, as she squeezed the base relentlessly and played the tip of her tongue over the rest of me. I cursed, I bucked, I saw fireworks and heard bells, but when I finally opened my eyes again I was still hard and throbbing and there was no sticky mess anywhere. Bella released her vise-like grip, her hands turning gentle again as she massaged and stroked my aching length. I had just come and I still felt like I needed to, like my body craved more. Was this how girls, with their superpowered multiple orgasms felt?

"What was that?" I managed to pant as Bella crawled up my body, stretching her little self along my skin.

"Just a little trick Rose taught me," she said, smiling as she kissed me. "Like it?"

"I don't know yet," I said honestly, "but I need you."

"Good." She kissed my lips again, then my jaw, then wrapped her wonderful, talented mouth around my earlobe. "I need you, too."

She let her legs fall to either side of my hips and sat up, grasping my still-hard length and bringing me to her entrance. I was pulsing, throbbing, needing to be inside her and moving. She nodded at me, and I pushed up as she sank down, enveloping me in slick, hot silk. She was tight, and I groaned as she leaned forward and flexed her internal muscles around me. I pushed forward, wanting her, wanting nothing more than to be enveloped by this sweetness forever. She fused her body tightly to mine, gripping my shoulders with her hands, and rolled us over again.

She had placed me on the top, deliberately putting me back in control, and I thrust experimentally inside her, reaching deeper before pulling almost all the way out again.

"Yes," she hissed, her legs wrapping around me, holding me cupped in her warmth. "Just like that. More, Edward, more."

I could deny her nothing, especially not that. I thrust again and she rocked her hips up to meet me, falling into a steady rhythm. Tanya and I had never quite been able to sync up, but with Bella it was as easy as breathing with her. I lost myself in the wet slide of bodies, the sound of her adorable, sexy little moans and growls, the taste of her on my tongue. It was beautiful and primal and everything I'd imagined sex should be but had never experienced before. Had I just been waiting for the right person? Was that all it took to get amazing sex?

She was whimpering again now, her skin flushed with color and the muscles of her thighs quivering as she held me tightly to her. I thrust hard, reaching deep, and she threw her head back. "So close - again. Harder. Don't stop," she panted, the words falling from her mouth in a way that made me think they weren't completely under her control. I did, and shifted my weight slightly so I could reach a hand between us, rubbing her clit as I thrust hard and deep.

Bella exploded around me, all of the muscles in her body tensing and relaxing, firing rapidly, and she ground herself hard against my body. Her tight inner walls squeezed and milked me and I lost it, too, releasing deep inside her. We thrust against each other a few more times, slowly now, drawing out the sweet intensity of orgasm as long as possible, but Bella finally relaxed her whole self, releasing her legs from their intense grip and letting me settle next to her. She rolled easily into my arms, her body loose and sweaty, her expression peaceful and calm. I knew for a fact that I'd never seen anything as beautiful as Bella's afterglow. She was amazing. Heart-stopping. I was beyond words.

Her soft little body radiated heat as she pressed close to me, draping herself half on top of me, but I didn't mind. As long as I could be close to her, that was all I cared about. I kissed her damp hair multiple times, brushing it back from her face as she nuzzled my neck sweetly and rested her head against my shoulder.

Had I said earlier tonight that I was done with girls? I take it back. I was done with all girls except Bella. She was it for me. Nothing and no one else could ever compare.

Slowly she moved her head, and I smiled foolishly as her big brown eyes met mine, radiating contentment. "Edward," she murmured, raising a hand and tracing a gentle line across my cheek. She smelled like sex, and it made my mouth water. "My beautiful boy."

"I'm not beautiful," I mumbled, and then, not knowing how I dared, I added, "but I'm yours."

A brilliant smile broke like dawn across her face, and she shook her head slightly. "Silly boy. Of course you're mine." She touched her lips to mine, just the ghost of a kiss, and whispered against them. "Your ass was mine the moment I saved it from Big Bad Jake."

It was true, too.

"Does that mean you're mine?" I whispered, suddenly afraid.

She kissed my shoulder, finding the little white scar where Emmett hit me with a lawn dart when we were kids. "Depends," she said. "You think you can handle being the spectator and not the star athlete?"

"I'm not much for competition anyway," I breathed, bringing her hand close to my face and kissing her fingertips. "Can I be your biggest fan?"

"Deal." She ran her hand down my torso, to where my cock was beginning to wake again, lured by the scent and feel of her. "Both of you."

"Both of us," I agreed before rolling her on top of me and finding her mouth with mine.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry if there's another roller derby smutfest on here; I haven't seen it, if there is. Derby's a HUGE part of my life - most of my friends play, and I would too if I weren't clumsier than our poor canon Bella. I just couldn't resist! Some details, like the outfits, are lifted from my local league, the Rose City Rollers, so you can see pics if you go to their website. Others (like the outdoor showers) are fabricated out of my dirty, dirty mind. So don't go running to your local derby or merby (men's derby) team hoping to snag some hot outdoor shower action, kay? Okay._


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